Taiyilake Nueraji scored the victory over Keifer Crosbie in his UFC debut during the main card opener for UFC Shanghai, but it came with a major asterisk.
The fight started with plenty of trading and scrambling on the ground, with Nueraji controlling the action in spite of Crosbie's attempts to use a rubber guard and find a leg lock. The turning point came, however, when Nueraji landed a knee on Crosbie, who was still grounded.
A bloodied Crosbie decided to continue the fight, with referee Marc Goddard deducting two points from Nueraji. That didn't matter, however, as Nueraji would prevent a takedown attempt and finished Crosbie with ground-and-pound about 30 seconds later.
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Taiyilake Nueraji Lands Illegal Knee But Finishes Keifer Crosbie At UFC Shanghai
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Nueraji now moves to 12-1 as a pro, with all of his victories coming via a finish.
Crosbie has now lost three straight and is 0-3 in the Octagon.
